2018-02-23 Update
2018-02-22 -
Update
In the Education
Committee
After a great deal of discussion, the
Education and Cultural Affairs Committee finally took a vote on (L.D.
1689) Bill "AnAct To Repeal Certain Provisions Regarding the System
AdministrationAllocation Affecting Maine School Districts in the 2018-2019
BiennialBudget"
This measure sought to create a system which
essentially penalized school districts for a failure to establish
regionalized programs and services. The measure did not recognize
those districts who had taken steps to regionalization prior to the
measure. While it incentivized regionalization of services, it also
penalized districts for not taking the proper steps to make school
administration more efficient.
I did see this measure as a veiled
attempt to transfer local administrative costs from the state budget to
the local budget. It also is an attempt to reduce the amount of
money which districts receive from the state.
We all want efficient
schools and efficient school administrations. We heard that ht costs of
administration in the state of Maine are higher than other places in the
country; however, we did not hear about why. More importantly, this
measure was worked into the budget as a part of the appropriations
legislation and it was not heard by the whole education committee.
It felt to me much more like “Tit for Tat - after the
fact.”
On Guns and Gun Safety -
Most importantly though, the discussion of gun safety
predominated the discussions in caucus. The events in Florida o last
week are disconcerting to stay the least. But it feels to me as if
we have reached a turning point. The actions of the children have set a
shift in motion - and I support that work. We do not need access to
assault weapons. There’s not a great deal more to say.
I
celebrate the leadership of the children who seem more able to take on the
issues than their adult counterparts.
Connected to this issue of
gun control is the issue of mental health. The issues are
conflated. While we seek to address the issues of gun safety, we are
remiss if we do not address the issues of mental health among all our
residents. Yet, we can not hold those mentally ill people as
scapegoats to the two different issues. Instead we need two
different paths of action - one to treat those who suffer from mental
health issues, and second to address access to assault weapons.
Let
me be as clear as possible. I believe we have a right to guns.
I also believe we have no need for access to assault weapons. I also
believe that we need to address community health issues.
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As
always, feel free to contact me at rfuller@mainenet.org
